Why is this fascination for the dead body? After all, everybody dies.

Death is inevitable (perhaps the only one).

So what happens when a person dies?

According to various religions, there are rituals performed to bid goodbye to that person.

Cremation, burial, burning or even leaving the body to feast upon for the vultures.

But why do we not think of utlilizing the body for the good of the other fellow human being. There are many ways in which a body can be utlilized, so as to benefit the others.

Organ donation, eye donation, giving it to colleges for students to learn.

Well the best form to live, even after your death is to donate your organs for the sake of other. This has to endorsed by you and religiously followed by your relatives in a timely manner.

No other form of donation can equal this gesture.

So why is religion coming in the way of the benevolent gesture? Is it not the duty of the religiious leaders to to advocate this practice. After all, you are giving away something that is no longer useful to you.

The religious preachers, rather than ridicule it in the name of religion, should rather preach on this life giving gesture.

Let better sense prevail. AMEN !!!

Time to patch-up
Time to let go of your egos
Time to smile
Time to celebrate
Time to fast
Time to binge
Time for everything…

The head of the Dubai Police has said that courtesy and discretion will be the watchword as his department gears up to enforce Ramadan regulations across the emirate.
“We train our officers how to deal with different nationalities and to respect non-Muslims who may inadvertently offend Muslims during Ramadan by eating, drinking or smoking in public places during the day,” Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim told Arabian Business.
“We show them that these things happen, and they are to deal with it in a courteous way so that they would refrain from doing it again.”

Can the non-Muslims expect a similar courtesy in Kuwait, specially considerting that it is summer time and temperatures cross 50 deg and that not everyone’s body can sustain such abstinence for long?

Another WikiLeaks sensational disclosure that may matter to the religious muslim fundamentalists.

Saudi Arabia might be an ultra-strict Islamic society , but princes’ mansions in Jeddah hide a buzzing party scene replete with alcohol, drugs and sex.

“Behind the facade of Wahabi conservatism in the streets, the underground nightlife for Jeddah’s elite youth is thriving and throbbing ,” said the November 2009 cable, released by the WikiLeaks website. “The full range of worldly temptations and vices are available — alcohol, drugs, sex — but strictly behind closed doors”. “This freedom to indulge carnal pursuits is possible merely because the religious police keep their distance when parties include the presence or patronage of a Saudi royal and his circle of loyal attendants.”

The truth is out for the world and in particular to those who hide behind the ‘veil’ of religious propriety.

Muslim religion bans a number of vices, which the Western world these days treats as acceptable behavior. So if they are doing things behind the veil, who is to be blamed for their behavior?

Is it not time that religion relaxes some of its strict principles, for the common person?

Enjoy a small selection of Islamic art depicting the prophet Mohammed:

Mohammed leaving for the battle of Badr

Mohammed in heaven with pretty women

Mohammed giving a sermon

Mohammed and Jibril

Young Mohammed recognised by the monk Bahira

Solving the dispute at the kaaba

witnessing a beheading

Surrender of the Banu Nadir

The prophet and his companions

Nineteenth centure Algerian postcard

Nineteenth century book illustration

Contemporary mural

Portrait of Mohammed, modern

17th century Iran

Mohammed splitting the moon

Mohammed and family members

I found this somewhere and thought of putting it here for my readers. Veracity is left to the belief of the reader.

News item

“In what is being seen as a backlash against the hijab,nightclubs in Cairo are refusing to allow hijab-wearing women in.

In trendy clubs and cafes across Cairo the hijab is increasingly being shunned as unacceptable dress.Several bars and restaurants where alcohol is served now essentially ban veiled women from entering.The policy is more open in some places than others but seems to apply to at least half a dozen Cairo venues.”

This raises certain questions:

1. Is Egypt an Islamic nation or no?
2. Is there a common Arab culture?
3. Are all Arabs Islamic?
4. Can a nation have only Islamic people & none others?
5. Is multi-faith worship acceptable among Arab nations?
6. What exactly is the dress code for women, as prescribed and accepted by Islam?
7. Is the world looking towards Islam in a biased way, due to the fact that their dress code makes them Islamic & look separate from the others?

Well these are just common questions that come to the mind to anybody from outside the Arab / Islamic community.

Afterall one should respect all faiths.

The conservative Saudis are increasingly availing of misyar, a no-strings marriage of convenience focused primarily on sexual relations.
Misyar allows couples to live separately , but maintain sexual relations . The women who accept it are spinsters , divorcees and widowsare deprived of almost all the rights that a normal marriage would entitle them to, but offers men an opportunity for a bit of fun on the side, in secret, and at a huge discount.
Misyars rising popularity also owes to the high cost of marriage in Saudi Arabia, as dowry, dinners, parties , decorating a flat and the honeymoon , set the groom back several hundred thousand riyals. Misyar for cash-strapped men is a boon.
A Saudi claimed that he entered several misyar marriages after his first normal marriage fell apart. He said none lasted for more than six months. He confided that he had hoped to find a compatible partner for a permanent relationship but it didnt work out. He also said the marriages had not been as cost effective as he had hoped, as misyar wives are crafty and inclined to extract money and gifts.
Thanks to Bluetooth technology, friendly websites and an abundance of furnished apartments in major cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, there are tales of Misyar wives who have clandestinely entered into more than one misyar contract.
These enlightened ladies say misyar husbands never tell their fulltime wives about their relationships so why cant Misyar wives have similar arrangements it stated.
Internet advertisements for misyar marriages often reveal the desperation of those looking for partners , with some only demanding a woman with the ability to satisfy the needs of a man who desires things permitted by religion.
Misyar is popular in the kingdom because in a society where extramarital and premarital sex is a cardinal sin it legitimises sexual relations outside the framework of conventional marriage.

Is it not another way of prostitution? The society, be it conservative or modern, always finds a way out to have sexual pleasure with multiple partners.

There are different views and perceptions to it, but the underlying purpose is to have sexual pleasure with fun and with the least of bonds.

(thanks – Dandoonah for the image. I just borrowed it.)

May ALLAH accept your fasting and bless you, your family, your near & dear ones and all of us.

Ramadan is the Holy month to be generous in your thoughts, deeds and actions.

GIVE YOUR BEST.

“Hashi” burgers – Arabic for baby camel – launched and lapped up with gr8 enthusiasm in Saudi Arabia.

Throughout history, the camel has served multiple purposes as food, friend, transport and war machine.

There are numerous other animals that have a similar background, history and purpose.

Now that they have taken to the camels openly, time is not far before they lavish other aminals on their dinner plate.

Wondering if they are going the Chinese way, who know any living being that moves it edible?

I quote Obama:

“We have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek – a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God’s children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.

I know there are many – Muslim and non-Muslim – who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn’t worth the effort – that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country – you, more than anyone, have the ability to remake this world.

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion – that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples – a belief that isn’t new; that isn’t black or white or brown; that isn’t Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It’s a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It’s a faith in other people, and it’s what brought me here today.

We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.

The Holy Koran tells us, “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.”

The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.”

The Holy Bible tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God’s peace be upon you.”

Very powerful and meaningful words; words that can belittle any religious preacher of the highest order.

Three cheers to Obama. There IS hope for the world.

Obama has over shadowed Osama.

How the World reacted to this speech

The essence of all religions in a nutshell.